Antique Master – New Season On ABC1 Starts 24 March

Something a bit different in this competitive reality TV show based on Antique stakes but if you like Antique Roadshow and Bargain Hunt I suspect Antique Master will be right up your alley.

It starts on the ABC on Sunday, 24 March 2013

The blurb:

Over 12 episodes, the second series of Antiques Master features a selection of amateur antiques enthusiasts battling it out for the coveted titled of Antiques Master.

Do you know your Meissen from your Murano, or a Chippendale from chip-board? Can you put a price on the priceless? Antiques Master asks the tough questions to find out who will be crowned Britain’s next Antiques Master.

Set against the stunning backdrop of Towneley Hall in the UK countryside, where the contestants battle it out in a series of challenges across all things antique, the series is presented by Sandi Toksvig and renowned antiques expert Eric Knowles (Antiques Roadshow).

Heat by heat, the antiques expert wannabes are eliminated after being asked to correctly spot fakes amongst treasures and accurately value auction items. The final rounds see the contestants’ passion and experience truly tested as they come face to face with the most unusual, the most valuable and the rarest of antiques.

Three contestants are introduced in the first heat. Anthony Pritchard, from Hove, has a love affair with English furniture. From London, Stella Brooker, is a collector of antique dolls. And 25-year-old plasterer, Richard Cole, loves Chinese ceramics. Which of these contestants has what it takes to win a place in the semi-finals and move one step closer to being crowned Antiques Master?

This sounds interesting.
Another good similar show is “Secret Dealers” on GEM on Saturdays at 6.30pm. Its where three dealers go into someone’s house and put bids on different antiques they find. The owner can choose whether to sell or not and is given the money straight up in cash.

I’d watch this, depending on the day/time it’s on of course. I’ve watched Secret Dealers a couple of times, but it’s another one of the Nine Network (Gem) offerings that isn’t captioned so I gave up. I don’t mind Antiques Roadshow and I watch Bargain Hunt occassionally, but Tim Wonnacott is a bit much sometimes. He’d give Jowlsy a run for his money with his threads.